Twelve months have passed since the last damaging earthquakes hit Canterbury.

The region was struck by two powerful quakes on December 23, 2011.

The first quake - magnitude 5.8 quake, 8km deep and centred 20km north east of Lyttelton - struck at 1.58pm. It was followed by a magnitude 5.3 quake at 2.06pm, a magnitude 6 quake - the largest - at 3.18pm and a 5.0, just 10 km deep, at 4.50pm.

The quakes toppled already damaged buildings, injured 60 residents and disrupted power, phone services and retailers. They caused further distress for residents in Christchurch's eastern suburbs, which was again hard-hit by liquefaction.

While there have been significant tremors since, none have caused the same level of widespread damage and none have been recognised by the Earthquake Commission as new claim events.